EUGENE, Ore.  – The 2026 Bushnell Cross Country season kicks off this Friday in McMinnville, and the Beacons will look to make strides towards climbing the ladder in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
 
Last season, the Beacon women finished 10th at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships while the men's team placed 12th. With a strong nucleus of returning runners and an influx of 14 newcomers, Bushnell enters 2026 with renewed energy and optimism."
 
"I am hoping we surprise people this year and do better than we have, said fourth-year head coach Kyle Will. "We have some talent. We have the type of runners who are asking for more and embracing tougher work outs. This will be a foundational year for us moving forward as I anticipate many of our top-seven on both teams to be freshmen."
 
Women's Returners
 
Six women return this season and all have put themselves in the conversation to show improvements on the course and lower their times.
 
Leading the returners is junior Cadence Smith, who has enjoyed back-to-back breakout campaigns and was Bushnell's top finisher at last year's CCC Championships. "Cadence is highly driven and motivated to succeed," said Coach Will. "She came in with a great team-first mindset this year. Her aim is to try and get to nationals as she also prepares for the NAIA Marathon in December, and there's no reason to think she can't accomplish her goals."
 
Other key returners expected to contribute in the scoring lineup include sophomore Alyssa Clark and senior Sidney Lane. Coach Will said, "Alyssa is a track-focused girl, but she is all-in for the cross country team this year. Sidney has been working hard this year and also training for the marathon and will be a top-five runner for us for sure.
 
Sophomore Annika Kimball is a wild card right now, as she continues to recover from some off-season injuries. "It might be mid-season before she races," said Will, "but she is doing all she needs to and will be one of our top runners when she is fully healthy."
 
Also returning to the Beacons are junior Jordan Lauinger and sophomore Karlee Myers.
 
Women's Newcomers
 
Headlining the recruiting class is freshman Eden Rosensteel (Oregon City, Ore.), a Lake Oswego High School product who enters the season as one of the program's most promising newcomers. Coach Will believes Rosensteel has the potential to qualify for the NAIA National Championships.
 
"Eden is the complete package," he said. "She has the talent, the work ethic, and the attitude. She does everything I ask and always puts in quality work."
 
Freshmen Abby Phelps (Philomath, Ore.) and Abby Jones (Florence, Ore.) arrive with similar potential and are expected to compete for scoring positions throughout their first collegiate season. Coach Will said, "Both of the Abbys are working really hard and have a ton of potential. They are off to a good start and I see them firmly in the mix to score points for us for years to come."
 
Zoey Zabel (Niwot, Colo.) joins the Beacons from Niwot High School where she was a three-sport athlete. "Zoey comes from a powerhouse high school," said Coach Will. "She knows how to work hard and has the right mentality to succeed."
 
Brooklyn Beecher (Florence, Ore.), joins the Beacons from Mapleton High School. Will said, "Brooklyn has been a bit of a surprise so far. She is still learning and developing her pacing so as not to go out to fast and leave something in the tank. As she continues to improve, we are excited for her future."

The final recruit is Liz Hirschbach (Berlin, Germany). After prepping at Springfield High School as part of an international exchange program, Hirschbach decided to stay locally for college. A jumper by trade, She is developing as a distance runner and should have a bright future.

Men's Returners
 
Bushnell's top returner, Logan Gant, will be on the shelf for the 2026 cross country season. He is battling some injuries and will be rehabilitating in anticipation of a strong track & field season next spring.
 
With Gant sidelined, sophomore Ben Patterson is poised to emerge as one of the team's leaders after overcoming injuries during his freshman season. "Ben has been running better than expected and I am looking forward to his season if he stays healthy. He is developing into a leadership role and has connected with all of the new guys. Some days he is pushing them and some days he is being pushed."
 
The veteran group for the Beacons also includes Wyatt Pepiot, Wyatt Humphrey, CJ Long, and a pair of runners who joined the track & field program last spring but will be making their Beacon cross country debuts in James Bechtol and Jaden Rok.
 
Coach Will said, "James had a great track season last spring. Getting him healthy has been our top priority. He had an outstanding summer of training, and by conference season he should be a significant contributor."  
 
"Jaden is still getting into cross-country shape and getting some mileage under his belt, but his training this season will definitely help him as a hurdler on our track team in the spring."
 
Men's Newcomers
 
A strong recruiting class on the men's side should equate to a large number of new runners landing in the top-seven for the Beacons in 2026.
 
Freshmen Sawyer Miller (Bandon, Ore.) and Luke Phillips (Eugene) are expected to be among the leaders of the pack for the Beacons this season. Miller was a first-team all-state runner at Bandon, taking seventh at the state championship. Phillips prepped at South Eugene High School.
 
Coach Will said, "My pitch to the team has been to embrace a blue-collar mentality. Sawyer embodies that every day. He is dependable, selfless, and consistently brings that to the group. He is a great teammate and an encourager and I see him as a future leader.
 
"Luke is a great member of this team. He shows up and works hard. He is inquisitive and the more he learns and understands what we are coaching him to do, the better he will be. The more experience he gains, the higher his ceiling becomes."
 
The lone transfer this season is junior Ben Carter (Camas, Wash.), who was an NWAC qualifier in the Steeplechase at Clark Community College. "Ben is fitting in really well with our young team, even though he's a little older," said Will. "I didn't know what we were going to get from him but if he continues to work as hard as he has been, he will be a scoring runner for us."
 
Freshmen Hunter Davis and Josiah Swick both join the Beacons from Crook County High School in Prineville, Oregon. Coach Will said, "Hunter has a great attitude, has a farmers mentality, shows up works, works hard and gets the job done. He is asking the right questions and I see him continuing to want to get better which is what this team needs. As Josiah continues to get healthy and feels comfortable that he isn't going to get injured, he should be a top-five guy for us. He is a mature culture kid and is really helping the team out spiritually."
 
Freshman Jackson Engstrom (Medford) comes to the Beacons exclusively with track & field history and was an OSAA State Championship qualifier at Phoenix High School.  "Jackson will be a middle-distance runner in the spring," said Coach Will, "and he is all-in for cross country because he knows how it is going to help him on the track. He has been one of our highest mileage guys so far and you can see the hard work paying off."

The final piece to the puzzle is freshman Andrew Thurman (Stanfield, Ore.) who prepped at Stanfield High School. Coach Will said, "Andrew is a hard worker and a great member of our team. We can't wait to see how he continues to improve and help us as he develops."
 
Season Outlook
 
The Beacons will compete in five regular-season meets before turning their attention to the postseason. Bushnell opens the year Friday at the Linfield Harrier Classic at Joe Dancer Park in McMinnville.
 
The CCC Championships are scheduled for Nov. 6 in Lewiston, Idaho, where Bushnell hopes to continue its climb up the conference standings. The season will conclude Nov. 20 at the NAIA National Championships in Vancouver, Wash., where the Beacons will look to qualify individual runners and potentially position themselves for continued growth in the years ahead.